Where are we at for Junior Eurovision 2018?

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2017 took place just 6 weeks ago, with Russia’s Polina Bogusevich being crowned the winner. Much has happened since then and we will cover all the news in this article!

Belarus, not Russia, to host the contest

On 15 October, it was revealed that Minsk would host the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018.

The Junior Eurovision Steering Group decided to remove a clause that gave the winning broadcaster from the previous year first refusal to host. This gave other broadcaster a chance to apply to host the contest and Belarus’ proposal clearly interested the Steering Group most!

Armenia to withdraw?

The Head of Delegation for Armenia at Junior Eurovision, Gohar Gasparyan, hinted that a withdrawal from Armenia is possible.
At the start of December, Gohar revealed that the Armenian delegation were not satisfied with how the EBU handled voting at the 2017 contest.

Last year, online voting was introduced for the first time. However, when voting opened during the show for 20 minutes, the sheer number of voters overwhelmed the platform and it crashed, giving many users a blank screen.
It also appeared that fans of the Dutch entry Fource, and even the Dutch broadcaster, were encouraging other people to trick the voting platform, so that they could vote more than once for the Dutch entry.
Many fans found this very unfair and it now seems that a country could even withdraw because of it!

Daniela Toleshova aims to represent Kazakhstan

As Kazakhstan looks at debuting in Junior Eurovision, 10-year-old Daniela Toleshova has already set her sights on representing the nation!

She previously took part in the Ukrainian version of The Voice Kids, and even gave a performance at the Junior Eurovision Euroclub last year. Daniela’s mother said:

“We don’t have any concrete plans yet. However, we’re interested in Eurovision. We will definitely be present when the selection starts. Honestly, there is not enough time to build our plans!”

However, Daniela currently wants to focus on her education, having missed several classes in November due to being in Georgia for Junior Eurovision.

Serbia hints at participation

In a Serbian documentary about Junior Eurovision 2017, the presenter ended the show by saying:

“We look forward to next year’s contest in Minsk.”

Does this mean that the country will return next year?

The Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018

The 2018 edition of Junior Eurovision will take place in Minsk, Belarus. Minsk previously hosted Junior Eurovision in 2010, in the Minsk Arena.
To date, five countries have confirmed their participation in the contest. These countries are:

• Belarus (the host nation)
• Georgia
• The Netherlands
• Poland
• Portugal

But don’t worry, more countries will confirm their participation in the coming months!
What do you think of these updates? Should the EBU scrap the online voting? Would you like to see Daniela Toleshova represent Kazakhstan?
Let us know in the comments below and on social media @ESCXTRA!